Chiefs head coach Andy Reid looks at the scoreboard against the Oakland Raiders in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. / John Rieger, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Perhaps the heartland was the perfect place for Andy Reid to find redemption.

Fired by the Philadelphia Eagles last December and still grieving over the death of his eldest son from a drug overdose five months earlier, Reid and his wife thought about taking some time off to reflect. After 14 seasons leading the Eagles, including five trips to the NFC championship and one Super Bowl appearance, Reid was out of favor with the fans and dismissed days after a 4-12 season concluded with a blowout loss.

But among the NFL teams that came calling was one that could identify with Reid's circumstances â?? the Kansas City Chiefs, a lackluster franchise devastated by the death of linebacker Jovan Belcher, who in December shot his girlfriend to death at home before taking his own life in the parking lot of the team's training facility.

Reid, while acknowledging it was time to leave Philadelphia, also knew this about himself: He could not walk away from his passion. Two days after his firing, and encouraged by mentors such as Hall of Fame coach and broadcasting legend John Madden, Reid signed on in Kansas City.

"Listen, sometimes change can be good," Reid told USA TODAY Sports. "I thought it would be a great thing for Philadelphia. And I was thinking it could be a good thing for the Chiefs.

"You never know."

Madden knew. He couldn't have predicted that halfway through the season the Chiefs would be the NFL's only unbeaten team, and the first franchise to start 8-0 after having the worst record in the league the previous season, according to the NFL. But Madden knew Reid would pour himself into reviving the Chiefs, and he expected success to follow.

"That's the kind of guy Andy is," Madden told USA TODAY Sports. "He has a plan. And he's very thorough, very smart.

"The change was good for Andy."

After years of dealing with the ever-expanding expectations of Eagles fans â?? who never fully embraced the laconic coach despite his largely successful tenure in Philadelphia â?? Reid also found himself reinvigorated by his welcome in Kansas City, where the Chiefs enjoy a massive and loyal fan base who had not had much to cheer about.

"I've sure enjoyed it," Reid says. "The people are phenomenal. The barbeque is phenomenal.''

The feeling among Chiefs fans is they've got a coach and a team they can believe in.

"This town is alive again," says Dave Grond, a longtime fan from Parkville, Mo. "He brought us the sense of winning credibility."

'Strength and experience'

A deeply religious man, Reid returned to the Eagles 24 hours after burying his son in August 2012. He said later it was to honor Garrett Reid, who "would have kicked me in the butt if I didn't. I felt that from his standpoint, it was the right thing to do. And this is what we do. We do work."

In Kansas City, Reid inherited a player who also grieved through his work â?? running back Jamaal Charles, Charles wife, Whitney, is a cousin of Kasandra Perkins, the woman killed by Belcher. A day after the murder-suicide, Charles took the field as the Chiefs notched one of only two victories last season.

"We've all been through a lot,'' defensive back Eric Berry says. "Andy Reid's a strong guy. He brings that strength and experience to our team. We use his knowledge of everything he's been through, not just in football, but life."

A year later, Charles is the centerpiece of Reid's offense. Charles has accounted for 48% of Kansas City's 401 offensive touches, with 153 rushes and 41 receptions for a league-best 1,018 total yards. Of Charles, John Dorsey, the Chiefs general manager, says simply: "He's the best back I've been around in my 30 years of football."

It's a stunning transformation for the 55-year-old Reid, who built his reputation as a disciple of the pass-happy West Coast offense.

"When you think of Andy Reid, you think West Coast offense," Madden says. "But on this Kansas City team Andy and John Dorsey are building, he's gone to a Chicago Bears model: Good defense; win the turnover battle; good running back and offensive line. The quarterback and passing game are important. But they're not the dominant part.''

Madden says he admires the changes Reid made â?? veteran coaches don't often change philosophies â?? after taking stock of the Chiefs roster. "That really took a lot of discipline for Andy to do that, because that's against his pass-first grain," Madden says.

Reid smiles when told of the iconic former coach's praise.

"I'm lucky â?? I get to talk to John once a week," Reid says. "He's a special guy, a former offensive line coach who treats me like one of his linemen.

"That's our relationship."

Still, Reid cannot resist the irony of Madden, the longtime Raider, now advising the coach of the division rival Chiefs.

"I told John I'll send him some Chiefs gear," Reid said. "Chances of him wearing it? Slim and none."

A new approach

If Reid was better known for offensive prowess in Philadelphia, in Kansas City he has assembled the ingredients for a postseason run when the weather turns cold â?? remember, Super Bowl XLVIII is to be played in New Jersey. His defense has a league-best 20 takeaways.

"I've always admired this about Andy: He's a guy who will work within the blueprint of the strength of your personnel, the strengths of those players, put together schemes and packages that fit that," Dorsey said. "Andy's a marvelous coach. When you have a coach like Andy Reid, you want to give him as many players as you possibly can to put your team in a position to win."

Dorsey was close with Reid from their 1990s tenure with the Green Bay Packers. Reid, noting that Dorsey's wife, Patricia, is from the Kansas City area, said he knew "it was going to take something special to get John out of Green Bay â?? this was it."

Dorsey calls the Chiefs "a crown jewel franchise'' and has embraced his reunion with Reid, whose coaching credentials brought him immediate buy-in from his new team.

"These players have complete trust in Andy,'' Dorsey said. "I formed my values in Green Bay. When the head coach and general manager are on the same page and they both philosophically have the same understanding, good things happen.

"We both understand the type of players Andy needs.''

Their first move was to trade for quarterback Alex Smith, who had been relegated to backup duty with the San Francisco 49ers after losing his job to Colin Kaepernick. Reid also hired the Chiefs' defensive MVP so far â?? coordinator Bob Sutton â?? whom Reid had tried to hire with the Eagles only to be blocked by New York Jets coach Rex Ryan.

Change helps Reid

Reid knows well the thin line between winning and losing in the NFL. Of his team's fast start, he says, "We're only halfway there."

He also deflects credit for his personal renaissance. He said he and his wife, Tammy, felt they could make the move because their children are grown. Reid hired his son Britt as a quality control coach.

"I have a good wife who will tell you she's the head coach of the head coach," Reid says. "I've been lucky enough to be surrounded by good people, so I've been very fortunate that way."